Pal- 

 luk-.ss, 



teviiii 

 ■ iiiulii 



Oiea.th- 

 at tlir 



I, t;1a- 

 l.lack, 



rzuf la, 



SA£AL (]a.)ssibly a native nanie in South Aiiieric 

 btit the atithor ot th<' i;ciius dui-^ not rxuiain) 

 macetp. t^piuele^s ]Mhu^. low. tall or ahiiu^t si 

 tlie robtist. i'iiii,^i:il tiaiiik ohluiitch' tisciinliiii;- 

 base, clothed tibove with (li;nl lottt'-shetitlis : Ivs 

 nal, orbicular or i-tuictitc ;it the i^tis^.', IhilM-llalol 

 tid; seg:nienls linetir. bihd, lilaiuoutotis on the ititirLtins, 

 iuduplicatc in the bud: rtirliis short or Ion;;-; lii;ule 

 short, adiltitc to the rachis; |iolioIe conrtive tiliove, tlio 

 ]iiari,^ins smooth, ttcule; sheath short; spadicrs lar,i;c, 

 el0Ui,'ated, decoiupovnid, at lirst erect, the lirtinehes and 

 hranchlets slender, recurvini^, pendent; s[.athes 

 iug the branches and lieduiicles tnbuhtr, oblh|u 

 throat: brads and bractlets minute; tN. suit 

 brotis. \Yhite or tureen; fiaiits snnill, gli;ihose 

 the short stvie basal. Species i;, Flornla to \'ei 

 anil one in Sonin-a. 



Some botanists nuilie the species names all teniiniue; 

 others neuter. i xu^i.^ G. Smith. 



The Cabbage Palmetto {S.ilml Pahiu/tn] gr.iws in 

 groups of a few specimens to several hundreds cu- even 

 thousands in the rich black soil on the hanks of the St. 

 Johns and C'cklawaha rivers of Florida, birmin^- a L;lori- 

 ous sight; and even the tourist wlio is blind to most of 

 the charms of nature cannot help being overwhelmed 

 by the beauty aud grandeur of these palms. They are 

 found northward to South f'arolina. but they atttiin their 

 fuliest development in Florida, w-here they always form 

 an important feature of the lamlscaiie. ("ienerti'lly they 

 grow^ in dense gronps, bat they are mon.' betintiful in all 

 their ptarts wjiere they have room enough to spread. 

 In southern Florida tiie undersigned has often found 

 underneath the cro\\-n of leaves a di-tise \vreath of ferns 

 {Pii/i/podiniii iiiirrii :ii \. whirh hidglileiis the charm of 

 these palms considertdily. (.)ii the St. ..b..hns the trunk 

 is often covered with the trinnpet creeper {Ttco)ita 

 radicans), or it is hidden by the dense foliage of the 

 cross-vine (Bignoiiia vniirioliitu) , both of whi h f ii 

 a beautiftil ornament, especially when in flowei Th o 

 suggestions of nature are of ten "followed by plant i "nl 

 have a feeling for nature-like landscai'e ef- 

 fects. The b'abbage Palmetto thrives even in 

 the poor sainlysoil, ami it is greatly improved 

 by cultivation. Even griiid-sizi^d trees are 

 not difficult to trans|dant if the whole 

 stem is carefully dug out .and all of the 

 roots and leaves are cut off. If the stem has 

 been set at least three feet deep and the 

 soil is kept well watered after planting, the 

 Palmetto bs almost sure to live. In addition 

 to the Palmetto, all of the Sabals mentioned 

 in this work are cnltjvateil b^'thetindersigned 

 on high pjine land in sontbern Floriila. Un- 

 der these conditions tie/ Sabals have l)ro\-ed 

 a great success, as aNo all species of Plnenix 

 and all Cocos of the australis type, while the 

 species of "Washirtgtonia, Erytheti, Livistona 

 atld Trachycarpus havi^ been an entire failttre. 

 S. BUict^hn ninninnt is. in the .pid-nient of 

 the undersigned, tlie linest of ' till the ftm- 

 leaved palms that cttti be gro^A■n in Florida. 



All the species that form trunks are objects ^ 



of great betitity whett well grown. They need __ 



to be w-ell fertilized, or the lower leaves w-ill """ 



.suffer and titittlh- die. thus detracting mitch 

 from the elegatice of the specimen. They all 

 grow naturally in ricdi black soil, but they all thrivi- ex- 

 ceedingly well in the sandy ])ine \v<iods soil if w(dl fertil- 

 ized and watered ; infttct, they c tin hardly be fertilized too 

 much, and the more nitrogenous mantire and ■\\'ater 

 they get the faster they trrow. \Vben transplanted they 

 must beset deep. In plttntinii: jitiims the writru- alwttys 

 makes a hollow titiout li ft. in ilianu-ter and abottt '1 ft. 

 deep in the center. This center, which recidve? the plttnt, 



is the deepest point, while the ground all around is 

 slightly slo|iing. (.areniust be taken to remove the sand 

 afti-r heti\y rtiins or the crown will soon be buried and the 

 little I dtint dies. As the phiuthrst forms tin- trunk in Ihe 

 soil and tis the grctwth is rtither rtipid, this lirectintion is 

 not necesstiry after the plant has attained a few feet in 

 ■-'^'-■' II. Xehkling. 



The Ctibbttge I'tilmetto (.SVtfitt/ Pal null, ,) is rich in his 

 torirtil assoi/latioiis. It is also noted fm- its ititperish- 

 tibility under wtiter. The trunks make good piles for 

 \vharv.'s. as they resist the attacks of the borer in sea 

 water. The leaves make the best of thttfehiug. L'nlil 

 the tree reticln.'s :t height td' lll-Lin ft. the litises ot the 

 letif-sttdks retiuiiu ni.on the trunk, forming a uniijue 

 rJn_C(Ul.r 'h hi;,r, which adds mucdl to its jdcttlia-sque- 

 ness. This |Mlm, when pot-grown, is valuable for 

 greenhouse culture at the North. 



The Dwarf Palmetto can resist as low a. temperature 

 as ll)-17'M^. The grticefill tlower-spike rises above the 

 leaves to :i height of i\ or 7 feet. 



,S. loiiiiiiiKliiiK'nldtniji sonn_-wdiiit resembles the Ctilj- 

 bage I'tiliuetto, and its llower-spikes extend far tibove 



the le 



i.KDEX. 

 Hongelidin-lji, 



E. X. IvEASCiNEl-c. 



Adttnsoai, 1. Hongeiidin-lji, s. r. inhnir, I. 



Blackburuijinuui, 4. .Tjivtniiiaim, s, i,, niniu.s, 1. 



Laerulrsceus, s. n. li.iii^diobtim, s. n. Jlnrlnl. 3. 



ilealb.atum, s. L. loiiKiiieduucuhituin, Pidtiietto. .'i. 



t.ihieslireylitii, s. L. s. i,. prinre].is, s. L. 



glaiictiiii, s. L. iiumrilitef.irDie, 2. in,ihr'i<:idlfrniiit, 4. 



!/Iav<:rsr,ns, LV yiexiciuiuui, .'i. Tz-csff/ta, s, l, 

 Havtineiisis, s. n. 



A. L,,il-hhul,' Inuiitr 111, I, I iH:li„l,'. 



B. Tniiik II, ,11,' 1. Adansoni 



EB. Triinl; flinilli/ ilu II '1. mauritiseJorme 



AA. L,;,tf-hUl,h' xh,irl, r IJniii prti,,l, . 



1 ^1 / f 11 1 'I ■' Palmetto 



I J '^1 pt t II I I 



Lnle^y I II I I Blackburnianum 



L I 



I 



I 



Mexicanum 





2^2^ The e -netto m l^lor da— S<bal Palmetto. 



1. Adansoni, iluerns. ( .s'. m) ii us or ui'mnr. \',r~. 

 i ',iri'/i>li,' ttt)/o.c, Jticq. not Linn.). I)w,vi;r PAL^lE'fTi.n 

 Dlte I'ai.m. Stem short, buried in tbeetirth: Ivs. 2-.:; 

 ft. b:ni:,^; bladt- ciri.-ular In its outlitn;-, sijuiewhat longer 



than the petiole, ;;-l;iUeons ; seittllelils slii:htly eieft 

 tit the iqtex; sptidix ereet. much loiiuer llttin tin.- hs., 

 :i-fi ft.: drupe '-, in. ihiek, bhtek. Soul hern states. 

 B.JI. Ibbl. 



(loOiJ 



